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Bonzai Junior (TV channel)
Bonzai Jr. '''is an American digital cable and satellite television channel that is owned by BritCan Communications. Launched on September 12, 2005 as '''BonBon. the service broadcasts programming aimed at preschool-aged children, operated as a multiplex channel of its parent network Bonzai Network. The channel was previously owned under a joint venture between BritCan Communications and Sesame Workshop, but was later merged into BritCan’s "Kids and Family" group in 2010, following the disbandment of the venture. History As BonBon (2005-14) On October 4, 2004, BritCan Communications announced that it had formed a joint partnership with Sesame Workshop to launch a then unnamed cable and satellite television channel aimed at preschoolers. Under the arrangement, similar to the launch of Bonzai Network, BritCan Communications would be in charge of handling advertising sales and distribution for the new channel, while Sesame would be in charge of acquiring and producing programming. The channel officially launched on September 12, 2005 at 6am EST with an episode of Miffy and Friends. Launch programming included Maisy, The Upside Down Show, Tiny Planets, and Tweenies. At the time of the channel's launch, Sesame was already involved in the television industry with the then-competing PBS Kids Sprout '''(a joint venture between Sesame, HIT, PBS, and Comcast which launched two weeks after), until [NBCUniversal (now owned by Comcast) bought their stakes in the channel. It was because of this that BonBon's lineup only featured rare, non well-known programs produced by both companies. The channel received its own dedicated program block on parent channel Bonzai Network, premiering on April 3, 2006 in a weekday morning timeslot. That same date, the network began officially advertising itself as '''BonBon Channel '''to avoid any confusion between the two. On September 28, 2010, BritCan Communications acquired the stakes held in BonBon by Sesame Workshop, with the company retaining program distribution partnerships with the network until January 2012. The network later expanded its programming offerings to include shows from other producers, as well as some programs that were already airing on the Bonzai Network block, on June 4, 2012. In 2013, BonBon began to adapt a more updated and ammended branding with 2D and 3D graphics, developed by Brand New School, to compete with other preschooler-targeted networks such as Nick Jr., Disney Junior, Sprout, and Qubo. '''As Bonzai Jr. (2014-present) Major developments were announced for the Bonzai family of channels at the January 2014 BritCan Communications upfront. Hanshiro Anio, the currrent CEO of the Kids & Family divison of BritCan and manager of Bonzai Television Network, LLC, announced that all of the other BritCan-operated children's networks (Bonzai+, BonBon, and BNX) would be realigned later in the year under the Bonzai brand. BonBon was the second channel to was the second to be re-branded after BNX, and the re-branding to Bonzai Jr. took effect on September 26, 2014, on the channel's ninth anniversary. With the relaunch, the channel went through a major overhaul, adding more board-appeal preschool programming and changing its slogan from "Play and Learn" to "It's What Little Kids Want". Alongside new and original productions, BritCan reached a new output deal with Little Airplane Productions for new program supply agreements. Programming Further information: List of programs broadcast by Bonzai Jr. '' Programming block Bonzai Jr. also lends its name to a daily programming block seen on parent channel Bonzai Network, titled 'Bonzai Playdate'. The block, which runs from 9am-3pm EST/PST, features a selection of original and imported content seen on Bonzai Jr., including series such as ''Dan & Dana, Boj, Molly's Valley, Meteor Max, The Cup-Sized Adventures of Muffin Man, and Freddy's Firehouse. Category:TV Channels Category:Bonzai Jr.